Clynelish 10 Year Old 1995 Signatory

Being from a sherry butt, this Clynelis is very pale indeed. Clearly refill. It was bottled in 2006 by Signatory, the independent bottler owned by Andrew Symington, the man who also owns Edradour distillery.

The first thing that came to mind when smelling this Clynelis was Oxo! You know, the vegetable bouillon in powder form on which you pour boiling water for an instant soup. Very grassy, with a hint of salt and smoke. It takes a while for the typical beeswax to emerge. Nut oil and cloves. The longer I wait, the sweeter it becomes. Coastal? Meh… not so much.

It is oily and very spicy at first. Completely mouth coating and sweet on citrus, honey, prunes, pears and beeswax. From the herb shelf we get chili peppers, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. This is very good. And it now shows some coastal elements, like sea salt and smoke.

The long finish is spicy and fruity. And lest we forget, smoky.

On the nose, this seemed to be a lesser Clynelish, but it opened up completely after a few mintues. On the palate, it became the kind of whisky that makes you day dreaming. This used to be available for around 50 EUR, but is now long gone. Thanks, Jan, for the sample.

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